TRAVEL IN PEACE
Protection and cyberprotection
We will never repeat it enough, be vigilant and cautious during all your personal and business trips. All people traveling abroad are targets for criminals for various reasons. In addition, this scourge has multiplied at a great speed with the demographic diversification of people traveling for their work and the advent of cyber. Nowadays, men and women of all ages and professions are are required to travel in the course of their work. This is why companies have a duty of care and protection towards their employees traveling for business. However, this duty does not withdraw the responsibility of the traveler to be careful. Furthermore, these same people must protect the information they carry during their personal trips.
In the past, the target of the malefactors was mainly valuables, money, jewelry or identification that people carried with them. These days, business tourists are also coveted for the privileged information they hold as well as for the data contained in laptops, cell phones or any storage device they have in their possession. As a result, no one is protected to a physical attack or cyberattack.
Previously being robbed by a “pickpocket” or a small thug was certainly a traumatic experience, it was however rare that these crimes cause serious collateral damage. Today crimes take many faces and impacts are greater. From the theft of valuable goods to the theft of data, you may be the victim of a crime or cybercrime unbeknownst to you and thus become a threat to your relatives and/or your organization without your knowledge.
Moreover, since the trend is to combine work and leisure time, more couples and families travel together around the world increasing the risk of being victim of an crime during their travels. In fact, everything that is marketable is attractive to traffickers; valuable goods, information, data as well as children, youth and beauty which are targeted for human trafficking. Vulnerability and risk are further magnified by the fact that these people also largely own laptops, tablets and mobiles with information and data that are subject to being stolen. This information and data is either sold on the black-market or offered to its owner for ransom and sometimes both.
Cybercriminals are capable to access data through increasingly sophisticated schemes that are often “invisible” to their victims. Connecting to an open or unsecured wifi, making a call from a cell phone, connecting a laptop or smartphone to a public charging station using a USB cable or leaving a device unattended for a few moments, all these actions are opportunities for cybercriminals.
Awareness and cyber awareness
To travel in peace whether for business or leisure, it is strongly recommended to consult a firm specialized in executive protection. In addition to taking care of your physical security during your various movements, they can inform you on “risk” level of the country or countries where you intend to go. They can also advise you of the security and cybersecurity measures you need to take while traveling, on “what to do and what not to do” in countries where culture and crime are different or as well as places to visit or to avoid for your pleasure and especially your safety.
